De Bruyne: City's hostile welcome 'not bad'

The Belgium worldwide had been considered favourite for the award for most of the season but Salah's increasingly impressive goal tally has brought him into the mix.

The Manchester City and Liverpool stars have been in incredible form so far this season, De Bruyne inspiring his side's title charge and Salah having a stunning debut season at Anfield. "But obviously, they have a big advantage".

"The team played brilliantly that game and we deserved to win", Rashford said. "He deserves it. If it's no-one from our team, I think he deserves it", he told BT Sport.

In the build-up to the clash De Bruyne revealed he had voted for Salah.

City midfielder de Bruyne admitted that the reception did not affect his or his teammates' mindset in the lead-up to the match, even going to say that he doesn't mind such shows of support - as long as it is safe and harmless.

"I'm fair. If he wins, he wins".

"I am very pleased with how I have played and I didn't expect to be this good this season, to be honest". I'm honest about voting. I didn't expect that a club as prestigious as Liverpool would do these kinds of things. "But I think if supporters do that without being violent then I think it's OK".

City's team bus was caught up in a hostile welcome on the way to the grounds with bottles and missiles thrown at the coach as it arrived at Anfield before the 3-0 defeat against Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.

Guardiola and De Bruyne had contrasting opinions over the events, with the Spaniard clearly riled up about the lack of intervention from police surrounding the entrance of the stadium.

De Bruyne ranks top in the Premier League for assists this season (15) and he has also created more scoring chances than any other player (98), but with just seven goals, his combined total is not close to Salah's.

It's totally different. I played at the weekend like a defensive midfielder, so how you can compare me to an inside forward?

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